Product Description

▼▲

When city-dwelling Raymond "Beamer" Boxby is sent to his cousin's farm for the summer, he isn't sure how it'll be fun with no air conditioning or video games. He can't see what good can come from the country adventures his cousin Bash has, like riding cows, or playing with skunks. But the real discovery is with Bash's "Fishin' and Farmin' book", which Beamer recognizes---the Bible. From here, Beamer is about to find a truly great adventure through salvation.

Product Information

Publisher's Description

Written for boys 8 to 14, Bash and the Pirate Pig is the story of a cranky city kid named Raymond "Beamer" Boxby who must spend summer vacation at his younger cousin Bash Hinglehobbs farm.

Beamer prefers air conditioning and video games. He cant see what good can come of this so-called country fun that includes riding cows, river rafting with a pig, or playing with skunks.

But hang tight, Beamer, because Bashs zany adventures with his "Fishin' and Farmin' book" (The Bible) just might lead to the coolest Discovery of all.

Author Bio

▼▲

Burton Cole is a Pulitzer Prize nominated journalist with thirty years of experience and more than fifty humor writing awards to his credit. He grew up on a farm in northeast Ohio and attended a smalltown church with a slew of cousins and buddies. That same

boyhood inspires his colorful stories today.

Tom Bancroft has more than twenty years of experience in the animation and illustration industry and worked with Disney on films including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aladdin. Other clients have included DC Comics and Big Idea Productions. He lives with his family in Nashville, Tennessee.

At first I was annoyed with this book due to the whiny kids and their rotten words (I substituted a couple names or explained my children's use was unacceptable). My goodness, the humor is so so silly....sometimes we could not stop laughing...we had such a good time with this book. The scenarios had my kids creating their own and knowing my lack of tolerance for messes...my kids adjusted and had a fantastic time. I appreciate the Christian values, overall highly visible character development, and working of salvation into the story. If you can tolerate super silly scenarios or just plain need a super silly read to break up the school work, I highly recommend this book. I greatly appreciate that this book does not have inaccurate, awkward or troublesome grammar; some books these days are written with such poor grammar I shutter when reading them to my children...not the case with Burton Cole.

Bash and the Pirate Pig, by Burton Cole, is the story of city couch potato, Raymond "Beamer" Boxby who prefers to spend his time inside with a bag of his favorite potato chips and a stack of comic books. To his horror, he learns that his parents have decided he needs to spend the summer getting fresh air, sunshine, and exercise...visiting his cousin on the farm!!

Sebastian "Bash" Hinglehobb is a bundle of energy who has a wild imagination and manages to convince others to join in his adventures...like letting his "riding pig", aka Gulliver J. McFrederick the Third, be the Admiral of the flotilla they assemble for their various human and animal friends> What could possibly go wrong?

Beamer feels doomed to be dragged into one scheme after another, and is also puzzled that Bash only has one book that he reads and quotes from regularly. His "Fishin' and Farmin' book" (The Bible) seems weird to Beamer, but by the end of the summer he discovers that the Book isn't quite so boring after all and has the answers to questions he just hadn't asked yet.

This book is a really fun read that is sure to entertain boys, and probably a few girls. I laughed at several of the things the boys got into and loved the perpetual optimism and odd sense of logic Bash had at all times. If your child has a wild imagination too, you may want to give a stern warning, "Do NOT Try This!", but it is mostly good, messy fun...and brought back a few memories of my own childhood. It reminded me a bit of one of my childhood favorites, Tom Sawyer. I also love the way the Bible is integrated into the story in a way that is perfectly natural. Bash simply "owned" his faith at an early age and is always ready to give an answer when questioned. Book is recommended for ages 8-14.

Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of this book by FlyBy Promotions at no charge to me for review purposes. I was not required to give a good review or to promote anything I cannot recommend.

My thoughts: Get ready for some down-on-the-farm, slap-stick, tickle-you-in-the-ribs, and boy-talk that'll cause your gag reflex to kick in. When city boy and country boy get up to mischief on the farm, it gets pretty exciting.

There seems no limit to the antics that Bash can dream up and it is usually at the expense of his city cousin "Ray-Ray Beamer." Nearly drowning in the pond, wrapping another "friend" with fly paper, riding cows down the road (I said cows, not horses or mules). And the beat goes on and on and on. City cousin is finally up off the couch and away from the computer game and he is busy just trying to exist without falling into some dire state.

Now what didn't I like about it? Well, I don't care for kids calling folks stupid, etc. So some of the slang could have been deleted and other suitable words in their place. Other than that, it was superbly written for a boy's book and one that will, as I said earlier, tickle-you-in-the-ribs. Also, I liked that though Bash was mischievous and very inventive, he loved the Lord and shared the plan of Salvation with others.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of the book for the purpose of review. Opinions expressed are solely my own.

Cassandra's Review Of Bash and The Pirate Pig- In just three short hours, I had a great time with this funny book. It was also very fun for my children, as I read out loud to their up most enjoyment. I heard giggles and great conversations afterwards. This is the kind of book that you would be proud to read your kids and know that they will leave it with some encouragement and knowledge. I am pleased as a mom and home school teacher to have had the chance to review it.